Drama script sales emerge as indicator for success

The viewership of the SBS drama “Our Beloved Summer” might have been disappointing, but the sales of its scripts are telling another story. The scripts of the TV show have topped the bestselling lists of local online book stores Aladin and Yes24, proving the growing popularity of the 16-part series that is scheduled to end on Tuesday.

The success of a TV series has been judged largely by its viewership rating, but the growing popularity of over the top platforms and services have led reduced its influence as a factor.

Although the latest episode of “Our Beloved Summer” recorded viewership of 4.1 percent, the lowest ratings among series airing in the same time slot, the Monday-Tuesday drama has been soaring to No.1 in Netflix’s Top 10 chart in various countries, including Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam and Indonesia for more than three weeks.

The two-volume script of “Our Beloved Summer,” which has been taking its pre-orders since Jan. 12, secured the top two slots in the bestseller list for more than a week.

According to Yes24, 44.2 percent of buyers were in their 20s, followed by buyers in their 30s (22 percent), 40s (14.6 percent) and 10s (13.4 percent).

Written by the screenwriter Lee Na-eun, the uncut script is scheduled to be released on Feb. 16 with special merchandise exclusively for customers who buy the first edition.

The latest MBC’s hit drama “The Red Sleeve” (2021) and tvN’s “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha” (2021) also released photo essays and scripts after their run. They recorded No.2 and No.1 on online bookstores Aladin and Yes24’s bestselling charts, respectively.

“As more television dramas become available in various local and global streaming platforms, the number of new drama fans continues to increase, leading to the rise in demand of popular series-related contents, including the script,” a Yes24 official said in a press release on Wednesday.

“With more drama fans showing their love and support by purchasing the scripts, reading the original script is becoming mainstream, providing interesting information about the drama’s popularity,” the Yes24 official told The Korea Herald on Wednesday.

“Our Beloved Summer,” starring actors Choi Woo-shik and Kim Da-mi, is a romantic comedy which centers around a former couple who are forced to reunite after a documentary they shot in high school goes viral.

The last two episodes of the series are scheduled to air on Jan. 24 and 25 at 10:00 p.m. on SBS.

By Lee Si-jin (sj_lee@heraldcorp.com)